YOWZA

11.04.11

Groupon Stocks Surge

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It only took a few minutes for some people to make millions. Groupon’s stock surged up as high as 52 percent right out of the gate in the the largest initial public offering for an Internet company since Google went public in 2004. Its share price rose from $20 to around $30 in the first moments, so far defying critics of the Internet deals company. But there are also concerns that investors will start flipping the stock for a quick profit. Groupon raised $700 million in the IPO before trading, selling 35 million shares at $20 each—above the initial range of $16 to $18 per share—raising $1.7 billion. Investors drove up the price in part by putting just a tiny share, or “float,” of the company on the market—just above 5 percent. Groupon’s ticker symbol on NASDAQ is GRPN.